Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

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novice
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Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by novice »

Got this yesterday, almost did not pick it up. Blued blade is razor sharp, both sides with needle tip, and handle is solidly mounted. About 7 3/8" overall, nickel silver guard, sterling band, and mop handle. Hmmm, could this be a a ladies dagger? Also, what was the relationship between M. Klaas England and R. Klaas Germany? I cannot find anything on the mark but clearly related with the Kissing Cranes.

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ILikeStilettos
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Re: Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by ILikeStilettos »

Letter openers aren't usually sharp, my guess is this was someone's personal weapon.
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Viking45
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Re: Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by Viking45 »

This is a very interesting piece,I have only seen this stamp one other time.
Not sure if it is related to the Robert Klaas of Germany,I simply can't say.
Judging by the thick carbon steel blade and design I feel confident this is a dagger but not necessarily a woman's dagger.
Many English daggers were ornate and carried in the belt,sometimes with no type of sheath.

Is the handle genuine MOP? If so this could possibly date it earlier than my first guess of turn-of-the-century.
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novice
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Re: Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by novice »

Viking45 wrote:
Judging by the thick carbon steel blade and design I feel confident this is a dagger but not necessarily a woman's dagger.
Many English daggers were ornate and carried in the belt,sometimes with no type of sheath.

Is the handle genuine MOP? If so this could possibly date it earlier than my first guess of turn-of-the-century.
The blade is ~0.125" thick and OAL is ~7.25". The handle is definitely genuine MOP and from a very large shell. It is nearly 0.25" thick.

It is a very nifty piece and I nearly passed it up and did not examine it.
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Jackalope
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Re: Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by Jackalope »

cool edged weapon!
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DonC
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Re: Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by DonC »

Very striking. I wish you good luck in determining the history of the knife.
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roostershooter
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Re: Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by roostershooter »

Looks like a prostitute dagger or gamblers dagger.
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Re: Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by Rey Zhourej »

Nice one! I used to troll e-Bay in the letter opener section and found several dirks/daggers that were listed there.Bought several of them too.Got a nice Alfred Williams ivory handled dagger for $15. Got this unmarked ivory handled dagger for $10.Got this dagger made from a file with a Lucite handle for $5.
But the best score was this one that I bought a couple years ago(along with two fixed blade knives)for just under $55(including shipping).Listed as a letter opener(the seller had over a thousand items on e-Bay and these were the only knives), it is actually an unsharpened Case V-42 dagger minus it's original stacked leather handle.
When I got it ,I found that someone had made an ugly handle out of some type of plastic(looked like a bowling ball with all the swirls);probably because the leather had rotted away.
I removed it (luckily they hadn't thrown away the pommel)and temporarily made a handle out of clear Lexan until I decide what to do with it. I showed it to a collector of V-42 knives and he offered me $750 for it.If it had the original handle and in the condition the blade is in it would be worth around $3,000.
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NicholsonFileLetterOpener1.JPG (15.69 KiB) Viewed 5465 times
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by Bill DeShivs »

My thinking is that your dagger was sold by M Klaas (possibly a relative) as the kissing Cranes logo is on the knife, but it appears to be Sheffield made.
Prostitutes of the era could not afford a fancy dagger. If they carried a knife , it was a table knife or a crude shiv.
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Re: Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by sammy the blade »

Didn't think you were that old Bill.
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: Another estate sale, another letter opener.....wait a minute...???

Post by Bill DeShivs »

Ahem..... Possibly a relative of Robert Klaas.......
I make de modern shivs.
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Factory authorized repairs for:
Latama, Mauro Mario, LePre, Colonial, Kabar, Flylock, Schrade Cut Co., Presto, Press Button, Hubertus, Grafrath, Kuno Ritter knives, Puma, Burrell Cutlery.
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